


Musically Icey

by TesseractTown



Category: RWBY
Genre: But the figure skating stuff is co-ed because I said so, Dorks in Love, Fluff, Gods I never knew how hard writing a dance is, M/M, Modern AU, Multi, Who knows I might eventually write the dinner for this because WHY NOT, figure skating AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:53:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26850985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TesseractTown/pseuds/TesseractTown
Summary: The new season has started up for figure skating, and Qrow is nervous to perform in his first competition.Figure Skating AU
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Comments: 9
Kudos: 24





	Musically Icey

**Author's Note:**

> I thought of that title and couldn't stop laughing at it so of course I use it because why not. I do want to write more to this AU but this is a start I guess so uh yeah!! I based this routine off one of my favorite ones so WAAAAA.
> 
> Someday I'll write Clover and Qrow doing one of my favorite duo routines :)

Ice Skating. It is one of those most graceful things a man can do. It can be graceful but dangerous. The closest thing to flying that one could ever feel. Gliding across the ice on your skates, leaving it, and flying through the air before hitting the ice again. It’s beautiful. It’s a dance that only some can perform.

One that Qrow has to perform.

He laces up his skates and stands in front of the mirror, taking everything in. It’s his first performance of the season. It won’t be his best performance, not by far. You have to leave the audience waiting for more. 

Qrow takes a deep breath and sighs before walking out of the changing rooms and out onto the floor, leaning on the side of the wall as he takes his blade guards off and glides onto the ice, coat hanging over his shoulders.

He glides around the ice, warming up his muscles. The clock ticking above, counting down. Qrow takes a deep breath and pivots so he is skating backward into a toe-loop jump. 

Qrow spins in the air three times, making it a triple toe-loop. He smiles as he hits the ice again, his leg sliding out, and he slides backward, with such a grace few can achieve.

This is just a warmup, and doing these jumps take quite a bit of energy. He doesn’t want to run out of energy before his performance even starts.

It’s always nerve-wracking to be on the ice before a performance, to have the coaches of the competitors watching you. They might know your name, or they could not. 

Qrow tries to focus on himself. Tune out the music and the sound of the ice and focus. Focusing on the twizzles, practicing his spins. Focusing on being his best self before the competition, dancing those nerves away. He has someone else to prove something to today.

Eventually, Qrow glides off the ice, and the lights dim, and the announcers do their thing and Qrow’s nerves are once again back to haunt him. He just can’t let those nerves affect his performance. On the ice you are vulnerable. Any hesitation and sign of nervousness can be seen. That isn’t graceful. That isn’t the beauty of the dance you are doing. You are dancing out of love for something. You don’t want to give any of it up. None of them do.

This is why you try your hardest to push your nerves to the floor and focus on the performance you are doing. Enjoying the time you have on the ice. It shimmers off and reflects the sky.

The skater pulls his coat off his shoulders and hands it to his coach, who sets it on the bench behind them. Qrow’s eyes are trained on the ice, replaying his routine over and over in his head, when finally the first contestant is called up.

She skates onto the ice, her blue outfit flowing behind her as she stakes around the rink, once, twice, then comes to a stop. She gets into position, and the music starts playing. Her routine is frankly beautiful. It’s graceful with such an elegance a figure skater should have. All of this makes him more nervous. It’s the first performance of the season, he shouldn’t be this nervous. He’s used to people watching him. It’s nothing new. Thousands of people have watched him before. He shouldn’t be this nervous.

He’s had his family watch him, he’s had critics watch him. He’s been criticized like no other. Just like any other figure skater has. Maybe this feeling comes from coming up short last year, or everyone doubting his abilities after his fall.

Or maybe it is as simple as he has someone else watching him this time along with his family. Someone who has of course seen him before, if you were any into figure skating you would know Qrow Branwen’s name. But, this individual means a lot more to him this time. Though he isn’t competing in this competition, he still took time out of his schedule to come to see him perform.

Finally, his name is called, and Qrow skates onto the ice, the sound of his skates very loud compared to everything else it seems. Like the cheers are being drowned out and he only can focus on his performance.

He skates around the inside of the rink, once, twice, and then gets into his starting position. And the music starts.

The music he chose was Someone Like You by Adele. It doesn’t exactly seem like a song he would choose, he was known for the opposite of a graceful song. But, he wanted to surprise people, he wanted to show how grateful he really could be. Show everyone who he can be.

He pushes off, and he goes. He takes a deep breath as he crosses his legs and goes gliding to the side, a moment later pivoting to skate backward. His nerves slowly fading to nothing, his head getting lost in the dance, and a smile forms on his face and he turns the corner, turning once again into a stationary circle before spinning out of it to the left.

He leans down and pushes off his right foot to gain speed again, gliding forward on the ice, before looking up stretching his arms out to the side for a moment. The lights illuminating him so he can’t see the crowd. Which was probably a good thing. He can’t see the people watching him. It makes it feel like it’s just another practice. Like if he slips up, he won’t be docked points.

Qrow pivots to the right and skates in a circle, throwing his leg up over his head, and down again, listening to the music for timing, even if it were basically muscle memory at this point. Thinking about it too much causes it to get off time. Not thinking about it hard enough is mistake-prone. You have to find that healthy middle. 

He glides out of that circle and puts his left arm on his right, slowly pulling it across his body till he puts his skate out to the side, turning. He puts his arm up in the air during this turn and closes his eyes. He crotches down and does a double spin before standing up and doing another.

First jump. He has this. He can do this. It’s just like what he has practiced before a multitude of times. 

He pushes off, and pivots so he is facing back, and at the last moments spins around and jumps off the ice into a triple Axel, landing it backward, hitting the ice. Qrow lifts his leg up and glides backward. Completing his first jump.

Qrow skates to both sides for a moment, creating an S for a moment, his arms held out to his sides before he hops over to his other foot, switching back to skate to the front. Gliding over and plants his foot and spins into a sit spin.

Qrow is having fun. It feels so nice to be back competing after the break. Sure, he has practiced for this season, but it’s the thrill of the competition that really pushes him. That gets to him. Performing for others instead of himself. It feels good to have the spotlight back on him, back on the ice.

Qrow slowly elevates back up to a one-foot spin, spinning around. Some might wonder how figure skaters don’t get dizzy with all the spinning. It’s just a skill you need to become a figure skater, To become one of the best.  
Qrow skates around, for a moment, before skating over and going into a Biellmann, stretching his arms out and pulling his right leg above his head as he glides to the other side of the rink, almost reminding everyone of a swan.

When he gets to a certain point, he does a waltz jump and lands to his other foot, still going backward, rounding the edge of the rink once again. He skates more to the middle once again and does a two-foot spin, that evolves into a one-foot spin. Kicking his leg up and down in one motion, almost making it look like waves.

Gliding forward, Qrow throws his weight backward, then forwards again. His hands in front of him in such a way that makes him look desperate. Like he desperately wants something, and right after he slides his skates out sideways, the toepicks pointing out and skates in a circle before skating forwards a moment. 

He goes into a camel spin, which quickly evolves to a sit spin, the rotations getting quicker the farther down he goes. He slowly stands up into a one-foot spin, holding his arms out in front of him as a ballerina might do, the rotations getting quicker and quicker. He lifts them up above his head, and he spins the fastest he has all night. It’s almost a blur on colors as he spins around and around.

The spin eventually slows down, and he skates forward, dropping down into what looks like a lunge, his arms fanning out beside him. He stands up once again and pushes off with his right leg, leaning forward and throwing his arms out in front of him before pulling them back close to his heart and looking down at them. That pose doesn’t hold for long as he throws one arm up and does a singular rotation on one foot before dropping into that lunch again and pulling that arm back down to his heart once more.

He stands up and skates around, doing a dance that only he wants to do. All eyes are watching him as he dances on the ice. Eventually, he points his toes outward once more and slides sideways, throwing his weight back once more, and leaning backward. His arms on his chest as he glides. He then pulls them out and they almost look like wings. Qrow stands up straight again and his right arm goes out in front of him, going back to his body as he makes a quick turn.

What once seemed like a lighthearted dance has turned into one of desperation. A yearning for something. Running around at yet can’t quite grab that light that you can faintly see in front of you. The arm motions, the skating all pulls that into one beautiful, mess.

Qrow skates backward towards the back of the rink and leans forward, pulling his hands over his ears till they drape in front of him. He stands up and continues to skate, still looking as graceful as ever as he captivates everyone watching. Skating faster and faster.

He pivots so he is skating backward, and jumps. Qrow a moment later hits the ice once again, completing his double Salchow. Skating backward for a moment before flipping around once more to skate forward.

He points his toes outwards and spins in circles, his arms making his seem like he is a spiral spinning, almost neverending. This leads into a waltz jump that turns into a camel spin. Around and around he goes, smiling the entire time. He slowly stands up to a one-foot spin, kicking the leg not on this ice up and down in that wave-like motion, before putting it on the ice, turning it into a two-foot spin. One arm above his head, and another fanning out to the side.

The spin slows down, and he stops moving entirely, putting both of his arms out of the side he leans backward. His routine ending.

Qrow breathes heavily in and out before he stands up and skates off the rink.

Qrow can now focus on all the other performances, and he went extremely well. It was a joy to be on the ice once more, and eventually, the awards came.

Everyone waited in anticipation, and eventually, Qrow’s name was called for first. 

Qrow smiles and skated out onto the ice, leaning down as they put his medal over his head, then shaking their hand. Smiling. He was happy. No matter what, it always felt good to win. But in this particular instance, it feels like he conquered a whole other mountain. He had skated through his nervousness and enjoyed it.

After everything had eventually calmed down. Qrow meets his family in the hallway outside the rink.

“Uncle Qrow!” his nieces screams as she runs over to him and squeezes him, “You did amazing!”

Qrow smiles a little and ruffles her hair, slipping the medal off his neck and putting it on Ruby.

Ruby beams up at her Uncle and looks at the medal that has been placed upon her, “Uncle Qrow! This is your medal!”

Qrow scoffs and chuckles, “You keep it pipsqueak. Reminds you of me you know?”

Ruby gives an exasperated look to Qrow when Summer decides to come barrelling in, “YOU NAILED THAT QROW!”

Summer elbows him in the arm and Qrow pushes back against her, “Fuck off, Sum.”

“Wow, rude,” Summer retorts, “This is what I get for supporting you?”

“I don’t know what you expect, Summer,” Raven pipes in.

“But seriously Qrow, that was amazing,” Clover says as he walks forward and hugs Qrow.

“NO PDA IN FRONT OF MY CHILDREN!” Tai yells.

“This is hardly PDA dad,” Yang cuts in,

Qrow smirks and presses his lips against Clovers for a moment, before pulling away and smirking at Tai, “That’s PDA.”

Clover laughs and takes a step back, “You nailed that triple axel.”

Qrow raises an eyebrow, “You could do it too, you know.”

“Don’t deflect the compliment, Qrow,” Clover chirps back.

Qrow rolls his eyes at his boyfriend and addresses the group, “Want to get some victory dinner?”

Summer pumps her fist in the air, “HELL YES!”

Clover nods, “Yes and I’m driving,”

Ruby smiles, “Can I invite Penny Uncle Qrow?”

Clover looks down at Ruby, “I make that executive decision, as the driver, that you can invite Penny. We’ll go pick her up.”

Qrow gives Clover a dead look, “You make it sound like I was about to say no.”

Clover shrugs, “I never know with you.”

“Idiot,” Qrow scuffs.

“But you’re _my_ idiot.”


End file.
